R v Syme [2015] NSWSC 1609

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Syme [2015] NSWSC 1609 Hearing dates: 27 October 2015 Decision date: 29 October 2015 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Adams J Decision: The offender, Angela Syme, is sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 21 years to commence on 20 April 2014 and expiring on 19 April 2035 with a non-parole period of 12 years. The offender is first eligible for parole on 19 April 2026. Catchwords: CRIMINAL LAW – sentence – murder – guilty plea – agreed with co-offender to inflict grievous bodily harm Legislation Cited: Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (NSW), ss 21A(5AA), 25C(1), 44 Category: Sentence Parties: Regina Angela Syme Representation: Counsel: L Carr (Crown) P D Young SC (Offender)

Solicitors: Solicitor for Public Prosecutions (Crown) Blair Criminal Lawyers (Offender) File Number(s): 2014/118824

Judgment

Introduction 1. On 16 April 2014 Mr Rodney Willis, aged 76, was murdered by the husband of the offender who hit his head with shocking force, using first a tyre lever and, when that did not inflict sufficient injury, with a heavy pipe shortly after. The post mortem examination revealed skull fractures in the right parietal, left temporal and base of Mr Willis' skull together with very significant brain damage and associated lacerations. He was in his own home and taken unawares by the attack. He plainly suffered extreme pain before unconsciousness supervened, probably at an early point. This calculated, cruel murder was committed in an attempt to delay the detection by Mr Willis of a theft by his killer and his wife, the present offender, of almost all the money in his bank account. The judge who sentenced her husband accepted that the initial attack was undertaken with the intention of inflicting grievous bodily harm but the second attack was intended to kill. On 5 December 2014 the co-offender pleaded guilty to the offence of murder. The starting point for his sentence (reduced for reasons which are presently irrelevant) was 38 years imprisonment. 2. When first arraigned upon an indictment charging her with Mr Willis' murder on 3 July 2015, the offender pleaded not guilty and a trial date of 26 October 2015 was fixed. On 3 September 2015 she was rearraigned and then entered a plea of guilty. The essential basis of this plea is that the offender had agreed with the co-offender that he was to inflict grievous bodily harm on Mr Willis but had neither contemplated his death nor agreed to it.